Insubordination:
Uma's POV
Not even a month had passed since the failed expedition to take back Wall Maria and we were already leaving on another mission. The village just outside Wall Rose had been secured during our last attack and now we were ordered to clear the Titan forest in order to make a path for future supply lines.
We weren't very talkative the morning of the mission. In fact, a somber mood had settled over all the members of the Survey Corps once news broke of a new expedition. We should have known not to expect anything, especially time off, but somehow after our last expedition, it seemed like we were owed a bit of leave time. There was no point in arguing though.
Saddling our horses, I noticed Frank eyeing me from his horse's respective stall. It was obvious after that encounter in my room he didn't trust me. That was fine because I wasn't sure I could trust him either. You never really know your teammates capabilities or shortcomings until you fight alongside them on the battlefield. Frank could just be useless brawn and Oulo could be all talk. I had to reserve judgment for all of my new squad mates… I'm sure they were doing the same for me.
Hearing the slow beat of hooves and boots behind me, I turned to see Levi leading his horse out of its stall with the reigns held in one hand. Our eyes met and I could feel my face grow red as he stopped next to me.
"Are you ready?" he asked with a grim countenance. Those shadowed eyes betrayed no emotion.
"Yes, Sir," I affirmed, feeling my cheeks begin to redden. He gave me a small nod and continued on his way.
I watched as he disappeared from my sight, curious as to why he would single me out. Did he think I was going to do something stupid out there today? I was on probation after all. Deciding I shouldn't let it get to me, I finished readying my horse quickly and headed outside to join the rest of the regiment.
Seeing Levi standing near the front of the cavalcade, Petra and Eld behind him, I went over to my Squad. Before I could ask for him for his orders, the crazed face of a brown-haired, spectacled woman leaned out from in front of the horse next to me. She seemed quite animated if not a bit touched by insanity. Her wide, almost maniacal gaze turned to Levi then, a smile spreading across her face.
"Ooo, Hiecho, who is this?" She asked teasingly. Levi didn't seem to be fazed by her at all.
"This is Uma Belova… rumor is she's psychotic," Levi answered. I wasn't sure if his rudeness was pointed at her or me. Levi seemed to have no love loss for her though… she on the other hand seemed to completely ignore his hostility. Regardless, the woman seemed excited by the possibility of me being insane.
"Wonderful!" She exclaimed, clapping her hands together and looking over to me. Suddenly, like the flip of a switch, her countenance became non-threatening. "I am Zoe Hange. And might I say, you're in the right place."
I offered her an uncertain half smile and she playfully nudged Levi's arm with her elbow. "I like her already."
"I'm not surprised," he muttered, mounting his horse. We all followed suit. By that time, the rest of our squad had joined up with us.
Suddenly the sound of Commander Erwin's voice cut through the crowd drawing our attention to the front of the ranks where he stood.
"Some of you may be wondering what you are risking your lives for today. Claiming the Titan Forest will give our troops a strategic advantage when crossing to Wall Maria. The road through this forest is wide enough for supply lines to cross through and the trees give soldiers full use of their 3DMG devices. It's imperative that we make this piece of Titan territory our own. Remember, that without you, humanity would be lost! Devote your hearts to this mission and we will be one step closer to claiming victory!"
He then gave the signal to open the gate. There was a moment of silence, then the low creaking of giant chains tightening and the rumble of steel and timber being raised up. When the gate began to open, I felt the sudden urge to vomit. I managed to keep my anxiety below the surface but with every inch that gate rose the realization of going back into Titan territory became more and more real. Hearing the order to advance, I let my horse carry me beyond the wall. Its unwitting nature to blindly follow the herd was the only thing dragging me forwards at that point.
Coming out the other side of the gate, I was blinded by the sun for a brief moment. Then everything became vibrantly clear. My senses were sharpened, my ability to act and react to my surroundings heightened… all at once I remembered how to live beyond the wall.
TITANTITANTITANTITANTITAN
We raced through the town beyond the gate, trying to make it to the open field unscathed. Out there, we could line up in formation. However, in the town, we were vulnerable on horseback. Two Titans had lunged out at us and were dispatched quickly before they could cause a break in our line. Their appearance was no surprise. Still, we had to get to the field as fast as possible. That was where we'd be the safest.
Once we were beyond the town and in formation, we quickly headed to our destination, the Titan Forest. Our strategic maneuvering got us there in under two hours. The loss of life was minimal but our left flank took a bit of a beating near the end.
Facing the wall of colossal trees before us, I could feel a wave of trepidation wash over the Survey Corps. Commander Erwin's voice then rang through the ranks as he gave us the order to advance. His words reinvigorated us and we shot from our horses into the trees, some of us unleashing battle cries and others clenching their teeth in determination. We were indeed the Survey Corps, crazy as hell and willing to risk life and limb for that faint and illusive dream that one day, humanity might regain it's freedom.
Passing into those trees was like entering a world where green, brown, and red were the only colors you could see. Titans appeared from out of nowhere, jumping up from the forest floor and snatching us soldiers from the air, leaning out from behind trees, or gabbing us through the branches. They were well hidden in there. It didn't take us long to realize that we launched ourselves into hell.
The forest worked both for and against us. The trees allowed us to move freely with our gear but they concealed the Titans from our view. In this environment rain was blood, hot and thick, the ground was a veritable hell, a kill zone reserved for the foolish and mortally wounded, and the thick trees were walls, large enough to conceal the enemy.
Once the roadway through the forest was cleared, we were given the order to regroup on the other side. It would take multiple clearings before the path was usable, but we could tentatively say that our mission today was a success. I did not want to think about the casualty count. At least everyone in our squad was still alive.
I had dispatched six Titans participated in two assists, one with Petra and another with Eld. This was a new personal best for me. Not that I was bragging, but I thought that this might help to prove myself to Levi and bring me one step closer to getting off of probation.
Levi ordered us to regroup and we fight to the other end of the forest as a team. It seemed like we were finally seeing the other end of the tunnel. I couldn't quite say it yet, but it appeared I was going to survive my first mission on Squad Levi. After some maneuvering, we came out on the other side of the forest relatively unscathed. Our horses ran up to us, obediently returning to their riders as they were trained to do. It wasn't until we mounted that we noticed one horse did not have a rider.
"Where's Franc?" Levi demanded.
We all looked around anxiously, seeing that he was indeed nowhere to be found. He was charged with bringing up the rear but now he was gone. My god, we left him behind! That bastard, why did he have to cause such trouble?
"There were no Titans in the area when we left, Captain. His gear must have malfunctioned." Said Oluo. This was the only rational explanation, but why didn't he call out... Could he have been hurt? If so, he wasn't getting out of the Titan Forest alone.
"Shit." Levi grumbled in annoyance. He knew that it was suicide for all of us to go back in there. Retrieving one wounded man was not worth losing six able ones. One of us was going to have to go back and get him.
Another human life wasted... another comrade down... the notion was unacceptable. Something had to be done and it had to be done right then. I felt myself shifting gears, my mind syncing up with the primal part of my brain that urged me to act. Instinct was taking over and all the while, Squad Levi was still rationalizing amongst themselves. I knew what I was about to do... and, apparently, so did Levi.
It didn't take long before the realization struck him and he was snapping his head over in my direction. His piercing gaze caught mine for a split second, about to stop me, but he was too late. Before he could say anything, I took off into the trees. I'm sorry, Levi, but I have to do this.
Launching myself through the air, I felt my cloak slip free from my shoulders and fly off behind me... like a dog breaking from its leash. I ran across the trunks of the giant trees as swiftly as if they were the very ground itself. The world spun around me as I flipped over limbs and swung under branches. As I maneuvered through the trees, I heard the click and snap of another grappling hook not far behind me. I turned my head for a brief second and saw Levi, his furious expression drawn into one of determination as he rocketed after me. My god, he was almost as scary as a Titan, I thought. If we get through this alive, he's going to kill me.
I couldn't be sure whether he was going to stop me if he caught me or not so I was set on outrunning him. Just the thought was ludicrous, but if I could stay ahead of him just long enough to find Franc, I would be in the clear.
Levi wasn't the only one I was running from. In the recesses of my memory appeared a girl of eight. She was running through a forest, tears streaming down her horrified face. Terror seized control of her heart and all she could do is head deeper into the woods, away from the sounds of screaming and the smell of blood and burning flesh. Everything she ever loved and ever knew was behind her- her world crumbling, burning, being ripped apart.
I had to outrun this girl, stay ahead of her by any means necessary. I would find Franc and we all would survive this day. My fate would not be her fate...
never again. I repeated this over and over, using it to fuel me.
"Uma, stop now!" Levi commanded. I pretended I couldn't hear him. I was too focused on the task at hand to listen to him anyway.
A Titan appeared to my left and I shot straight up into the air, narrowly escaping its grasp before coming down on the back of its neck and splitting it open. Out of the corner of my eye I could see Levi kicking off a tree, heading right for me. He reached out an arm to catch hold of the back of my uniform jacket but I rolled out of his range. After a moment of freefalling to the lower levels of the forest, I shot off once more, heading deeper into the trees. At this point, I could only imagine Levi wanted to rip me limb from limb.
Diving headlong into a grove of trees, I found Franc, hanging upside down from one of his grappling lines. He was unconscious. Jumping onto the branch he was stuck on, I unsheathed my sword and cut his line. He safely fell to another branch below and I dropped down to get him.
Turning his face up to mine, I checked his vitals and found he was still alive. It would have been more of a relief if I didn't think he was such a pig. That's when a Titan leaned out from behind the tree we were in, it's salivating mouth agape. Before it could lunge out and chomp down on us, I saw a flash of green rocket across the back of its shoulders, a spray of blood exploding in its wake. Levi landed in the tree next to us, watching as the Titan fell to the ground dead.
"Is Franc alive?" He asked, his usually lackluster eyes shining dangerously.
"Yes, but he's unconscious," I answered. Just as I said this, Franc started to stir.
"Princess?" He mumbled in a daze, his eyes half open as he stared up at me.
"Yeah, it's me," I answered, annoyed. "Can you stand? We have to get out of the forest."
Realizing the situation we were in, Franc wordlessly clambered to his feet. He was unsteady, but was able to move and that's what counted.
Levi rappelled down to where we were. "You done fucking around?" He asked me bluntly.
I nodded, taking Franc's bulky arm and slinging it around my slender shoulders for extra support.
"Good. Then let's get back to the others," he ordered. "I'll clear the path." With that, he headed through the trees, back the way we came. Now I had the lovely task of lugging Franc's dumb ass though the Titan Forest. All my aggressive energy was spent and what remained was the notion that Levi was going to kill me for my impulsiveness.
Luckily we did not run into any more Titans on our way back and Franc wasn't as out of it as I had first suspected. Once we arrived at the edge of the forest, I shrugged Franc's arm off of my shoulder and wordlessly motioned for him to get on his horse.
Captain Hange then rode up to us from her squad, her expression etched with worry. "Thank god," she breathed, seeing that we were all right. She then looked at Levi then over to me, her expression turning into one of pity. Clearly she knew how much trouble I was in. After confirming that we were alive and unscathed, she headed back over to her squad.
"What the hell was that about?!" Oluo yelled, glairing at me.
I said nothing. Instead, I looked over at Levi expecting him to tare into me but he didn't say a word either. I wasn't an idiot, I knew I was still in deep shit but it surprised me how he wasn't going off on me right now.
"Get to your horses, we're going back to the Wall," he told us, mounting his horse with ease. We all followed suit and headed back to Trost.
AN: Please review! I'm so glad that everyone is responding so well to my story! Next chapter we get to see what punishment Levi has in store for Uma... we all know it's going to suck lol. PS if you are interested in Death Note you should check out my other story "23 Days of L" or if you like Black Butler check out "Family Blood" (shameless plug, I know, but I can't help it).